His aides say in the statement below that he's looking to end the "distraction," which has been taking on life as a cudgel for Democrats to poke holes in his tough-as-nails reformer image:

Attached, please find a list of instances in which State Police helicopters were used for travel. The total number attributable to the Governor is 33. Another flight was by the Lieutenant Governor, and one other was for transporting support staff for consecutive press conferences in the Meadowlands and Atlantic City to announce the recommendations of the Hanson Commission. The spreadsheet lists the date and purpose of use.

Also, though the Superintendent of the State Police noted yesterday the travel does not cost taxpayers additional dollars, the Governor understands the sensitivity about this kind of thing and believes he owes it to the public to ensure that this is not a distraction. As such, the Governor is reimbursing for the last two trips dated 5/27 and 5/31 in the amounts of $919.20 and $1232.30, respectively.

UPDATE: The Star-Ledger, which broke the original Choppergate story, reported moments before the release that Christie actually took the state helicopter to his son's ballgames twice within the past week. And in a sign of how damaging the narrative was becoming, he state Republican Party is now reimbursing the state for those flights.